


The Things You Find on a Spaceship

by notmyyacht



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Thor (Movies)
Genre: Bruce just wants to find a decent set of clothes, Bruce/Nat? What Bruce/Nat?, Loki just wants a kiss, M/M, Making Out, Mistletoe, Post-Thor: Ragnarok (2017), Pre-mid-credits scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-25
Updated: 2017-12-25
Packaged: 2019-02-20 05:36:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13140159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/notmyyacht/pseuds/notmyyacht
Summary: While rummaging around the ship looking for clothes that he can wear when he's not the Hulk, Bruce comes across a box full of mistletoe. This would have been a lot less awkward if Loki wasn't there during this discovery.





	The Things You Find on a Spaceship

**Author's Note:**

> For day eleven of the 12 Days of Holiday Shipping Challenge! Prompt: Mistletoe
> 
> Completely unbeta'd! Any and all mistakes are on me.

Although it was one of the more minor complaints that came with turning into the Hulk, waking up wearing nothing but stretched out, oversized pants was always something Bruce never got used to. He had gotten more comfortable with it during his time with the Avengers, but mostly because Tony always had a spare set of clothes waiting for him.

A chill ran through Bruce’s half-naked body as he struggled to hold up what was left of Tony’s tight jeans, which were no longer tight. He shivered and opened the box in front of him. Inside were only cords and wires wrapped in neat coils. He sighed and closed the box.

The storage room was a cold and cramped tiny corner of space in the bowels of the ship. Heimdall had informed Bruce of its existence and that it contained a box filled with spare clothes. What Heimdall didn’t tell him was which box it was.

“The one with the gold triangle in the corner,” he had said. And that was it. Two-thirds of the heavy, metallic storage boxes had gold triangles on them. There had to be at least three dozen boxes in storage.

Bruce nudged the box of cords off the box below it, but it wouldn’t budge. He glanced around. Still alone. He released the waist of his pants and let them drop. Without wasting any time, he grabbed the weighty box by both ends, lifted it, then placed it on the floor. He snatched up his pants to cover himself.

“Well done,” said a voice from the doorway. Bruce bristled and slowly turned to the side. There stood Loki, arms crossed and an amused look on his face. He unfolded his arms and gave two heavy claps.

“How long have you been there?” said Bruce.

“Long enough to see the show.”

“Show’s over. What do you want? I’m kinda in the middle of something.”

Loki fully stepped into the room; Bruce felt the need to take a step back, but with the box pressed against the back of his calves, he didn’t have anywhere to go.

“Nothing. I was just passing. What are you doing?” Loki narrowed his eyes as Bruce turned from him and kneeled in front of the box.

“Nothing.”

Bruce unlocked the two latches and pushed up the lid. He frowned. Nothing but spare parts and tools in this one. Loki was still standing there, craning his neck slightly to look into the box.

“I’m looking for clothes,” said Bruce, getting to his feet. He walked around the box to the pile behind it. With his one free hand he unlatched the box on top. “If the Hulk is going to play nice and let me come out once in a while, then I need to wear something other than the rags he leaves me.”

He pushed himself up on his toes to look into the box and wordlessly opened his mouth. What the hell was that? A hair dryer? Not what he needed, that was for sure. He closed the box then stopped. He turned to Loki, who was still watching him.

“You going to stand there all day or help me? If not, then I’d rather you leave please,” said Bruce.

“Does my presence bother you Bruce?”

“Yeah, a little. To be honest, I don’t feel comfortable dropping my pants in front of you again just so I can move these boxes.”

Loki held out his hands with a smile.

“I am at your service then,” he said.

What.

“What? Really? You’re gonna _help_ me?”

Loki shrugged. “You are in need of assistance and frankly I’m bored. Not much to do on this ship. This was one of the Grandmaster’s less fun ships.”

“Oh. Okay, then would you mind moving this box?” asked Bruce.

“Certainly.” Loki stepped closer and picked up the top box, carefully placing it on the floor as if it weighed nothing.

Bruce furrowed his brow at him.

“Thanks,” he said.

“No problem.”

Bruce mentally shrugged and opened the box at waist-level with him. He sighed. The box was empty. This was going to be a long day.

Boxes upon boxes later and still nothing. There was still a few to go, but Bruce was starting to get agitated. Being this close to Loki wasn’t helping in the slightest. Bruce was certain Loki was doing this for something other than to relieve boredom. This, in itself, was boring. If it were anybody else, Bruce would apologize for taking up his time.

Bruce pushed aside another box, which had also been empty. Loki watched it hit the floor with a loud _bang_.

“Heimdall said ‘box with a gold triangle’ and we have only three of those left. It has to be in one of them!” Bruce said, his tone louder than usual. In the corner of his eye he saw Loki stiffen slightly. Huh, so he still got nervous about the Hulk.

Bruce turned to him fully, feeling a rise in confidence.

“I know what you’re doing,” he said.

“And what exactly is that?” Loki said, the playfulness back in his demeanor.

“You’re trying to score brownie points with the Hulk so the next time he comes out he won’t kick your ass. Helping me isn’t helping your case.”

Loki’s smile vanished and he rolled his eyes.

“Oh please,” he muttered.

“Why are you really here? ‘Passing by’ a storage room _at the end of a hallway_ isn’t as convincing as you’d like to think. I thought you were the god of lies. God of heavy lifting empty boxes is more like it,” said Bruce as he unlatched the left lock on the box in front of him.

Loki glared at him a moment, then broke with a sigh.

“Alright,” he said, “you weren’t far off. We’re returning to Earth and you may have noticed I’m not quite popular there. I may have Thor’s support but it won’t be enough. I have no doubt the authorities of your world will want me locked away or killed on sight if I so much as step foot there. Even if I have all of Asgard behind me, they are strangers to your people and their word might not be trusted as easily. But…” He locked eyes with Bruce. “If I had a second Avenger to support me they might not be so hostile.”

“So you came down here… to make friends? With me or the Hulk?”

Loki paused a moment, then said, “To whichever will have me.”

Bruce raised his eyebrows. Well, _that’s_ quite a response.

“Okay… I think,” he said.

Loki forced a smile.

Wow, this must be such unfamiliar territory for him.

“Okay,” Bruce repeated, a bit firmer. “First rule of friendship with me or the Hulk is no betraying. Hulk will smash you if you betray him.”

“I have no doubt of it.”

“Good. Now that we got that out of the way… it’s _really_ cold in here and we only have a few boxes left.” Bruce returned his attention to the box in front of him. He flipped the final latch and pushed the lid up. “Is that…?”

“Mistletoe,” Loki finished.

The box was filled to the brim with it; a few leaves fell to the floor upon opening.

“What was the Grandmaster doing with a box of mistletoe?” asked Bruce.

“I could not say. Unless he knew of Midgard’s traditions with it, I can’t imagine why he’d have so much of it,” said Loki, looking down at the plant with a hint of disgust.

“He didn’t use it in his orgy ship, did he?” Bruce muttered in horror. He turned his head to Loki. “In the Norse myths, there’s a story about you and mistletoe, isn’t there?”

Bruce had once attempted to catch himself up on the Viking tales of Asgard, but Thor had surprisingly kept shutting down story after story. Apparently most of the myths were created completely from the Norse peoples’ imaginations.

“Yes,” said Loki, “and although pieces of that story stem from truth, I had nothing to do with it. Also Baldur was never related to me or Thor. He just had a severe allergic reaction to mistletoe during a battle in Alfheim, but was ultimately killed by an arrow to the heart.”

Bruce narrowed his eyes at him slightly, wondering if any of that had been twisted in Loki’s favor. He made a mental note to ask Thor about it later.

Loki reached a hand in and pulled out a bunch. He smirked and held it over his head.

“Merry Yule… or Christle. Whatever you call it these days,” he said.

Bruce blinked.

“You mean Christmas?”

“Yes. Merry Christmas, Bruce. Aside from the ridiculous fictions your people enjoyed making up about Asgard and its relationship with this vile plant, I do believe your Christmas holiday involves hanging mistletoe.”

Bruce glanced up at the mistletoe above them with disdain.

“You do know what happens after we hang it, right?” he asked.

Loki smirked and leaned in slightly.

“I do,” he said, shaking the mistletoe slightly.

Still half-naked, being physically very small next to a god, with mistletoe above their heads, Bruce suddenly felt very vulnerable under Loki’s gaze.

“I’m not kissing you,” he said.

“Why not?” Loki grinned. “It’s the custom, is it not? If I’m going to live on Earth for the prolonged future, shouldn’t I be acquainted with the customs and mannerisms?”

“It’s customary around _Christmas_. I don’t even know what _month_ it is on Earth!” Bruce could feel his heart rate increasing slightly. His cheeks grew warm.

Loki shrugged.

“All the more reason. If it’s not the Christmas season, then I will be prepared when it comes. If it is, then we’ll be in keeping with the tradition.”

“Why do you want to kiss me so badly!?” Bruce shouted; his voice echoed against the walls of the storage room, leaving an uncomfortable silence in its wake.

The hand holding the mistletoe dropped to Loki’s side in an instant, his eyes slightly wider than before. Bruce closed his eyes, which he could only guess had speckles of green in them for a moment.

When he opened them Loki was an inch further away and was replacing the mistletoe back into the box, completely avoiding eye contact with him.

“I’m sorry. Didn’t mean to yell-”

“I shouldn’t have pushed,” Loki interrupted sharply. His voice softened slightly. “I apologize. I only meant to tease, not to make you uncomfortable.”

Loki brought a hand to the lid of the box and moved to close it. Bruce reached out and placed a hand on the lid beside Loki’s. Loki finally looked at him, his expression unreadable. Bruce sometimes wished he had gone into psychology instead; maybe he’d be better at this sort of thing.

Not that Loki would be an easy read. He bet even the best therapist in the world wouldn’t know where to begin on that one. But Loki was ever-changing; the fact he had come to their aid on Asgard still baffled him.

“For the sake of tradition,” said Bruce, his hand leaving the lid to take out the bunch of mistletoe. He held it above his head.

A smile played at Loki’s lips.

“What changed your mind?” he asked.

“I don’t know,” said Bruce. “Maybe it’s just my nature to try and see the good in people. Even people who are unpredictable and dangerous.”

“Sounds a lot like yourself.”

Bruce nodded, his brow drawing together slightly.

“I suppose it is.” Bruce didn’t want to dwell on that thought for too long, but perhaps it was true. He and Loki had a lot in common, maybe more than he knew. Maybe Loki did need a friend like him. What was a little kiss between friends?

He took a step closer and tried his best to raise the mistletoe higher than Loki’s head, which wasn’t working out. Loki covered his hand with his own. Bruce opened his fist, passing the mistletoe into Loki’s. Loki held it above them as Bruce placed his now free hand on Loki’s chest. He hadn’t planned to, but now that it was there, might as well leave it.

Bruce tilted his head and Loki met him halfway. It didn’t feel like much; it was chaste and neither seemed to be putting much effort in. Bruce relaxed his jaw slightly and felt Loki sigh against his mouth, his own lips parting. Bruce pushed himself up on his toes and brought his hand up to Loki’s neck, deepening the kiss.

Everything sparked to life. Loki wrapped an arm around Bruce, pulling him flush against him. Bruce turned his head the other way and brought his other hand up to get a grip on the back of Loki’s neck. He needed to taste, to have more of him.

A heat that Bruce hadn’t felt in a long time spread throughout his body. He no longer could feel the cold of the storage room; he hadn’t even noticed the remains of his pants were now pooled around his feet. He kissed Loki with an earnest he didn’t realize he still had for this sort of thing.

Loki submerged himself in the moment, kissing and groping Bruce’s body like a man starved.  The mistletoe he kept holding above them was crushed into his palm; a leaf or two rained down on them as they finally parted for air. Their foreheads rested against each other as they caught their breath.

“You’re not going to become the beast now are you?” said Loki.

“No. Was this what you had in mind when you said you wanted to be my friend?” asked Bruce.

Loki chuckled.

“If I had known there was mistletoe in here, I would have incorporated it in. But no, not at all. However…” Loki placed a soft, open-mouthed kiss on Bruce’s lips. “I do very much like this option.”

Loki glanced over at the remaining two boxes that sat in the corner of his eye.

“What do you suppose is in them?” he asked.

“My guess,” said Bruce, “is that one is empty and the other finally has some clothes in it.”

“Do you want to find out?”

Bruce shook his head and leaned in again. “It can wait.”


End file.
